Friday, February 26, 2010

What an amazing week, all this buzz has my head-a-spinnin...in a really awesome way!!!

1) THE BODY FINDER was picked for the Spring 2010 Indie Next List, which is Frickin Amazing!!!! So now my page on IndieBound has this official looking logo thingie and a review from one of the Indie bookstores and it's SO COOL!!!! I LOVE INDIES!

2) I got to meet the funny, charming, and lovely Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl at their BEAUTIFUL CREATURES signing at Third Place Books in Seattle (one of the coolest Indies around!). Those two are a force to be reckoned with!

3) I don't mention all the reviews I get, but I got three fantastic ones right in a row this week, so I just had to give a quick shout-out to each of them:

"This is a refreshing take on paranormal romance, although Violet's crush on Jay sometimes overpowers the suspense storyline, and readers will want them to get together already. The point of view switch between Violet and the killer is interesting, upping the creepy factor. A strong ending rounds out the read."—Kelly Brennan

5) And finally...only 18 days until THE BODY FINDER hits stores! Probably sooner in some places, which TOTALLY! FREAKS! ME! OUT! (And, yes, the countdown widget says 17, but it counts to midnight the 16th, and since I'll be in bed till morning, I'm counting it as 18.)

I hope that all of you in the Seattle/Tacoma area (and your friends...and their friends…and, well, you get the idea…) will join me in celebrating the release of THE BODY FINDER at Borders in Tacoma on Saturday March 20th at 2:00pm.Borders2508 S. 38th StreetTacoma, WA 98409

So, what’s in it for you, you ask???

First off, the lovely staff at Borders will have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of copies of THE BODY FINDER in stock. And did I mention that personalized books make great gifts??? Because they totally do!!! Also, I’ll be passing out signed TBF posters, bookmarks, and stickers to everyone just for showing up! We’ll also have cookies for the kids...and for the adults. And everyone who comes will have a chance to win a GREAT prize!

Hmm…what else? Oh yeah, I'll be doing a short reading from THE BODY FINDER and answering questions (be gentle!) before the signing. I have to warn you, though, my daughter is convinced that she gets to sign everyone’s book, so please be sure it’s me and not an eight-year-old imposter! She can be very persuasive!

In all seriousness, I wish all of you could be there to help me celebrate this very special and exciting moment, your support has meant the world to me!

And for those of you who can't make it, you can pre-order your copy of THE BODY FINDER at any of these locations (and more!):

Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo has the smarts and guts to figure out who knocked off the star quarterback. Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he’s a great observer. So, who did it? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the beautiful girl ever notice him? (Okay, so Will’s interested in more than just murder . . .)

Those who prefer their heroes to be not-so-usual and with a side of wiseguy will gobble up this witty, geeks-rule debut.

And then there’s Josh Berk…I probably like him so much because he’s funny, irreverent, and downright spastic. That’s right, spastic.

In honor of his release (which sounds like he just got out of prison), I’ve asked him to stop by for an interview. Mostly, I thought this would be a good way to redeem myself for the “poop” incident when I was interviewed on his blog, but after reading his first answer, I think we might have started something…

Ready, Berk? Let’s do this thing!

1) You get into an elevator and someone immediately asks you what your book is about. What’s your elevator-pitch description? Keep in mind, there are only 3 floors in our imaginary building and you just pushed the button for floor 2.

I would spend half the time trying not to fart, because I hate elevator-farters, and then I'd blurt out "Funny deaf kid solves a murder!" Then I'd probably fart.

2) Where do you get most of your writing done? Better yet, can you show us a picture (before you clean up) of where all of the magic happens?

I write on sheets of parchment with a quill in my home office. It is very neat, the office is. There are oak shelves and leather chairs. There is a faint scent of brandy and a mist of pipe smoke which hangs likes fog. Probably also a screaming toddler and maybe a one-eyed dog.

3) What book or series do you wish that you wrote? And, no, you can’t say Twilight or Harry Potter because those are my answers.

I'm going to go with "The Catcher in The Rye," which might be almost as cliché an answer as the examples you gave, but it's true. And, no, it's not because I want to become a beard-growing recluse deep in the New Hampshire woods. It's because of how when you read that book you feel so deeply like he is talking to you -- you and only you. It's deep communication and what more can you strive for as a writer? As a human? You didn't know I was deep.

4) Okay, your book just won the SUPERFABLOUSGREATESTBOOKEVER award and you are asked to give an acceptance speech. Who are the top three people you thank and why?

The book is dedicated to my parents, for teaching me all about books and moreso about life and laughter and love. So I'd thank them. And also my wife for putting up with me. Any time a married writer wins an award their spouse should automatically get an even bigger award for putting up with them.

5) Recently, the blogosphere had a day dedicated to all the great things our agents do for us. Can you tell us something you love about your agent? If you don’t have an agent, tell us something great about your editor.

Ted loves dachshunds. That's not exactly something he does for me, but it does make me think he's superfantasmagoricallyamazing*. How can a guy who loves dachshunds not be fantastico**?

6) We know you are really, really good at writing, but what is something that you are you really, really bad at?

Is "life" a thing? I'm bad at that.

*While answering these questions, I asked Twitter for words more interesting than "awesome," which I over-use.

** Not all of the answers were in English.

Now, here’s the coolest part: Berk brought props! He made this hilarious release day video to share with us:

And, yes, my sign does say POOP. (So…maybe not so much with the redemption.)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Happy Friday, everyone!!! I'm so excited that this week is almost over. Not because it's been a bad week, just because is it's been a weird week. Plus, it means we're seven days closer to the release of The Body Finder!

So, here are my five (really random) things:

1) Turkish rights for THE BODY FINDER sold this week! My Turkish publisher is Bilge Kulture. YAY, Turkey!!! (Why does that sound so strange???)

2) After taking a brief break from The Body Finder, I'm back! I started a third book in the series this week...and all I can say is WOW! Everything just feels so right about it. I love these characters!

3) I have launch party on the brain. We had a planning meeting earlier this week, and the details are starting to fall into place. We have a date and location, so as soon as everything's firmed up, I'll make the official announcement!

4) In the meanwhile, remember that beach I was talking about??? I'm reallyreallyreally looking forward to our Valentine's Day getaway. It sort of feels like the calm before the storm.

5) And since HarperCollins started it, I'm in the mood for a share, so I'm going to throw a little tease in the mix. I'm SO EXCITED for this book to FINALLY be out in the world!!!!!

Violet was wrapped in itchy wool blankets and perched in the back of the big red ambulance with an emesis basin hovering on the tops of her knees. She had puked twice since Jay had dragged her away from the watery grave she’d discovered. She’d never been bothered this way by any of the animals she found, but somehow the image of the dead girl, lying lifelessly beneath the water’s surface, made her feel sick. It wasn’t until the immediate shock had worn off that her stomach finally settled down. The bowl she now held was just a precaution.

Besides, there were other distractions to take her mind off her weak stomach.

Being in the presence of so many men—and women—who carried guns for a living was a little disturbing for Violet. Not because she was afraid of them, but because in general, those who carried weapons had a higher probability of using them. And those who used them had a greater potential for bearing the imprints of death on them.

And I get to hear about it: The push presents in honor of each of their two beautiful daughters, the diamond he had re-set into a pendant from her dead mother's ring to surprise her at her baby shower, the photobook he made of their journey together that was synchronized with "their song" so that as she turned each page, the lyrics matched up with the photos. And each time he gives her one of these truly heartfelt gifts, she cries. And each time she relieves the moment to her friends, wives glare at their husbands.

But here's the thing, my husband and I are SOOOO not that couple. I'm not even jealous of that couple. I love them, and I love that that's their schtick, but it's really not my gig. I'm just not that...gooey.

Josh and I have been married for almost 17 years, we've raised three kids, and survived natural disasters. And we've done it by laughing. And that's the thing, we laugh. A lot. We're the couple that cracks ourselves up. The ones that tease our kids ruthlessly. The ones that see the humor in almost everything.

Okay, fine, everything.

And gifts...Josh is a pretty good gift-giver: a new wedding ring for our fifth anniversary, a Tiffany's necklace for my birthday one year, cards, flowers...you get the drift. For our 15th anniversary, he took me to The Four Seasons in Seattle and had champagne chilling in our room when we got there.

I know what you're thinking: AWWWW!

And, yes, it was very sweet.

So what did I get him, you ask?

Nothing. I forgot to even get him a card. For. Our. Fifteenth. Anniversary!

But after a couple of glasses of champagne, I decided that he REALLY REALLY needed a card, so I decided to improvise. I snuck into the bathroom and locked the door, while I made him a "card" out of toilet paper and mascara. And I practically cried-laughing as I gave it to him.

That's the kind of wife I am.

So, here's the rub: For Valentine's day, we'll be on vacation with this other couple, the romantic/weepy couple, who will no doubt be drawing hearts in the sand and ordering one Pina Colada with two straws at every restaurant.

Josh and I are worried, afraid that we're about to be exposed for the non-romantics that we truly are. We picture ourselves on Valentine's Day, the four of us, as The Romantic presents his gift to The Weeper...probably a sweater that he's knit from his own tears, which he'll hand her just as the sun is setting and dolphins are frolicking in the waves...

Monday, February 1, 2010

Curious about the first couple of chapters of The Body Finder??? No need to be, HarperTeen has made them available for their HUGE (and I'm talkin' HUGE28 Days of Winter Giveaway) here.

The Body Finder is Day 11, but there are also 27 other fantastic Harper titles to browse, along with contests, quizzes, free e-cards, and all kinds of other fun goodies! Plus, the graphics (like the snow falling) are so frakkin' adorable....I just want to hug the people at Harper right now!!!

So, what are you waiting for, I've got nothing else interesting to say...get yourself over there and check it out!!!